Webmin is a web-based system administration console allowing an
administrator to easily configure servers and other features. Using the
'buildpkg' FEATURE, or the -b/-B emerge options, Portage can build
reusable binary packages for any of the packages available through the
Portage tree.

Tavis Ormandy of the Gentoo Linux Security Audit Team discovered that
the Webmin ebuild contains a design flaw. It imports the encrypted
local root password into the miniserv.users file before building binary
packages that include this file.

Impact

A remote attacker could retrieve Portage-built Webmin binary packages
and recover the encrypted root password from the build host.

Workaround

Users who never built or shared a Webmin binary package are unaffected
by this.

Resolution

Webmin users should delete any old shared Webmin binary package as soon
as possible. They should also consider their buildhost root password
potentially exposed and follow proper audit procedures.

If you plan to build binary packages, you should upgrade to the latest
version: